Sustainability assessment of demEAUmed solution

An integrated assessment including the environmental and socio-economic impacts of the innovative technological solution developed in demEAUmed project has been undertaken by consortium partners under the leadership of the Sustainability Division of LEITAT.

The assessment analyses demEAUmed technologies in terms of environmental impacts (e.g. carbon footprint, water scarcity, energy demand, pollutant removal eco-efficiency) in order to provide environmental improvement measures and indications of their applicability in real case scenarios as well as the cost. Two different water cycles have been studied: greywater line and wastewater line (combining greywater with blackwater from the toilets and kitchen water). In addition, social impacts and the perception of demEAUmed project on society have been assessed.

Results

The following images and tables summarizes the environmental impacts and cost of the different configurations demonstrated under demEAUmed project.

In general, the highest environmental impacts of demEAUmed technologies are related to energy consumption as well as the use of some materials in the construction (e.g. stainless steel) or the maintenance tasks implied (e.g. change of electrodes or other components). In this sense, the project has analysed the potential environmental savings that could bring the use of alternative materials, the lifespan extension of some components or the consumption of renewable energy sources.

As regards to the social assessment, a survey performed to Samba Hotel customers revealed that most of the respondents (up to 70%) have high level of acceptance about incorporating greywater or wastewater reuse technologies in touristic facilities. Moreover, 89% of respondents think that competent administrations should promote legislations on water reuse and 93% of respondents think that touristic facilities need to incorporate practices as demEAUmed solution in order to reduce freshwater demand and wastewater generation.